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T-Mobile / PokéData

This story originally appeared on Contagious I/O, our intelligence tool featuring the most creative and effective ideas in marketing from around the world

Telco lets customers play their hearts out with free, unlimited data for a year

T-Mobile is tapping into the Pokémon Go phenomenon as part of its T-Mobile Tuesdays promotion, which rewards its customers with free products and services each week. Starting from 19 July 2016, the telco is offering its US customers the opportunity to claim free, unlimited data for Pokémon Go for a year. This means that data used to play the mobile game won’t be deducted from people’s T-Mobile data plan allowance through to August 2017.

New and existing customers need to have the T-Mobile Tuesdays app to redeem the offer, which is available every Tuesday from 19 July to 9 August 2016.

In addition to the free data, the telco’s Pokémon offer also includes free Lyft rides up to $15 (helping people get to a PokéStop or Gym), a free Wendy’s Frosty dessert to provide energy for their gaming and 50% off selected accessories, such as portable power packs and chargers, so they can keep playing for hours. The company will reward 250 customers with $100 in PokéCoins (virtual money that can be used to buy in-game items) and five players will also win a Pokémon Go hunting trip anywhere in the US for themselves and a guest.

Contagious Insight /

Gotta catch all (customers) / Since launching in the US on 6 July, Pokémon Go has amassed more than 20 million active players in the States alone, more than the users of Snapchat, Twitter and Tinder. This has made the augmented reality mobile game the most popular app in US history in less than 10 days.

When chasing Pikachu for more than 30 minutes per day, the biggest issues for gamers are data overages and battery consumption. According to Australian online retailer Kogan.com, since the game launched, the company has seen a more than 200% spike in the sale of portable chargers and mobile accessories.

T-Mobile has found a way to take part in the hype around the game by tailoring its Tuesday offers to the players in a way that will most leave customers with a positive perception of the brand. The continuous commitment to the free and unlimited data offer (one year) could also make some hard-core gamers currently with another mobile provider switch to T-Mobile.

This story originally appeared on Contagious I/O, our intelligence tool featuring the most creative and effective ideas in marketing from around the world. I/O helps anyone in the world of marketing understand why brands are innovating, how they're doing it and with what success.